The analyst, Chetan Sharma, has released a research paper, The ABCs of SMB Transformation: Apps, Broadband, and the Cloud.

The analyst surveyed 80 SMBs (small-and-medium businesses) of different shapes and sizes across the US, serving different verticals, in order to understand the impact of mobile broadband, devices, and cloud applications. The study also looked at the data from over 12,000 companies in the SMB segment, and from over 20,000 larger enterprises.

Additionally, it conducted a series of interviews to better understand the motivations, requirements, and feedback of these companies. These companies have been in business for 20 years on average, with over two years of experience with mobile data solutions.

The backdrop to the study is the fact that the US is the biggest market for mobile data solutions and services, with revenues in 2013 due to exceed $90bn, representing growth of over 165 per cent in the last five years. US Smartphone penetration passed 50 per cent in mid-2012, and the number of apps available to consumers has quadrupled in just the last two years. While growth in the smartphone segment has been impressive, the tablet adoption rate has been the highest in the consumer electronics history. The advent of mobile broadband, powerful computing devices, reliable cloud services and applications have changed the computing landscape forever, the analyst notes.

At the same time, the Consumerization of IT is changing the face of the enterprise architecture, and this is felt more acutely in the SMB segment. The US is also the biggest enterprise market in the world and the SMB segment represents the more agile and technology-savvy of the ecosystem. In fact, Chetan Sharma believes it is a leading indicator of how technologies are going to be adopted in the enterprise ecosystem, what trends will prove to be disruptive, which vertical segments will embrace efficiency, and most importantly, how should we think about the ever-changing landscape as we look towards rest of the decade.

The analyst notes also that small businesses are at the heart of the US economic engine, representing  roughly 45 per cent of non-farm GDP. Given the importance of small businesses to the economy, it is therefore worthwhile to look at how their technology needs are changing. Additionally, it is important to understand how they are adopting technology and the impact it is having on their productivity, competitiveness, and efficiency.

The study reveals that small and medium businesses are leading indicators of technology adoption. As referenced in the paper, SMB smartphone and tablet penetration is more than 90 and 65 per cent respectively; whereas national smartphone and tablet penetration is roughly 55 and 22 per cent. 

The study also identifies a shift from ‘Mobile First’ to ‘Mobile Only’. Chetan Sharma forecast such a shift last year, and says it is now seeing strong evidence of that shift. In its survey, roughly 30 per of SMBs are transitioning from desktops and notebooks to smartphones and tablets, and this shift is resulting in the emergence of a generation of app developers focusing primarily on the mobile app platform.

Finally, the study finds that mobile broadband, cloud, and apps are providing real and tangible ROI. The SMBs in the survey saw average savings of 40 minutes per worker per day, which translates into significant impact on profits over the course of the year.

There’s more information about the study here.